OPICA Blog

Alzheimer’s: How far are we from a cure?

The global race to find a cure is underway. The campaign to elevate awareness about Alzheimer’s disease, and other dementias, is in full swing across the planet, while funding to support research is at an all-time high in the U.S. and U.K. But how soon will a cure arrive?

Today’s Alzheimer’s treatments temporarily reduce symptoms of memory loss and improve thinking and reasoning. These treatments however do not stop the fundamental decline and death of brain cells. As cells continue to die, Alzheimer’s disease continues to progress. According to the Mayo Clinic, current research efforts aim to stop this fundamental decline, to halt the progression of brain cell death. Read “Alzheimer’s treatments: What’s on the horizon?” to learn what research approaches are currently underway.

In January, Congress and the President approved a $350-million-dollar funding increase for Alzheimer’s research to be managed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These additional funds represent a 60% increase to existing funds and brings the total of funding for dementia research to just over $900 million. These dollars contribute to several studies currently in progress that demonstrate real potential for unearthing the cure for dementia. To learn more, read “A Cure for Alzheimer’s?“ published by Huffington Post in March, 2016.

But can anyone really say when the cure will arrive? We can really only be hopeful that our efforts will pay off. These efforts are catalyzed by the sharing of information, OPICA is happy to be a collaborator in this effort and we support your desire to KNOW MORE. Sign up for our eNEWS HERE. Share our blogs with your social media networks below.